Early Net Fishing at the Epipaleolithic Site of Jordan River Dureijat, Upper Jordan River, Israel

Abstract

For more than 10,000 years (~ 20,000–10,000 BP), human groups repeatedly returned to the southern edge of Paleo-lake Hula in the Upper Jordan Valley to exploit aquatic resources at the Epipaleolithic site of Jordan River Dureijat (JRD). Previous research has emphasized line fishing based on bone fishhooks and line weights. Here, we document additional fishing methods revealed by the systematic use of limestone cobbles as net sinkers. The limestone assemblage from JRD includes 289 elongated limestone cobbles and 167 notched cobbles, making it the richest collection of such artefacts reported to date. Our investigation combines techno-typological analysis, stratigraphy, functional use-wear and residue analysis, and fish bone data from securely dated layers. Results demonstrate both technological continuity and innovation in fishing practices. The correspondence between net sinker abundance and the fish assemblage supports their interpretation as net fishing gear. Continuity is expressed in the repeated selection of elongated cobbles with standardized dimensions and weights, with cobble width guiding notch placement. Increasing frequencies of worked cobbles and fish in the faunal assemblage suggests an increase in fishing intensity over time. Use-wear traces, including rounding, striations and preserved wood fibers indicate cross-like binding of net sinkers from the earliest layers onward. Together, these data highlight the long-term importance of net fishing at JRD and long-term behavioral consistency, both technological conservatism and innovation, intensification and environmental adaptation in Epipaleolithic aquatic resource exploitation.